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Tears at the top: 8 times that presidents have cried in public

President Barack Obama wept openly Tuesday while defending his executive actions on gun control and remembering the victims of 2012's Newtown, Connecticut, shooting. The White House has proved to be an emotional place for past leaders; President George W. Bush summed it up when he told journalist Robert Draper: "I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president." POLITICO takes a look back at other times presidents have been brought to tears by the stresses and strains of the world stage.

Former President Gerald Ford cries as he listens to a tribute to his wife, Betty Ford, at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia on Aug. 1, 2000.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:54 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:26:09 EST 2016

Then-Sen. Richard Nixon begins crying after a 1952 meeting with presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower, which resolved a controversy over funds raised for Nixon by businessmen and kept him on the GOP ticket as a vice presidential candidate.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:53 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:27:14 EST 2016

At a July 6, 1999, speech to the Southern Baptist Convention, former President George H. W. Bush tearfully recalls the moments leading up to the start of the air war against Iraq.

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Tue Jan 05 15:02:26 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 15:03:04 EST 2016

In these photos, presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower cries after his July 1, 1952, speech at an 82nd Airborne luncheon.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:54 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:27:58 EST 2016

President Bill Clinton is moved to tears as he sits with first lady Hillary Clinton at the White House on Aug. 3, 1994, during a gathering of riders from the Health Security Express, a bus caravan of health legislation supporters. Clinton was listening to a speech by John Cox, whose wife, Janette, died the week before. According to The New York Times, Janette Cox had delayed seeing a doctor because her husband’s new job lacked insurance benefits. The 55-year-old woman died of stomach cancer in Texas as her husband rode one of the buses to Washington — her deathbed wish, according to the Times, so her husband could continue to push for affordable, guaranteed, universal health coverage.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:53 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:28:21 EST 2016

A tear runs down President George W. Bush's cheek as he takes part in a Medal of Honor Ceremony for Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham at the White House on Jan. 11, 2007.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:53 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:27:36 EST 2016

Former President George H. W. Bush emotionally recounts how five presidents called him after his wife, Barbara Bush, had open-heart surgery in March 2009.

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Tue Jan 05 14:15:52 EST 2016Tue Jan 05 14:25:49 EST 2016

President Barack Obama defends new gun control measures on Jan. 5 by running through a list of mass shootings that have happened during his time in office. He teared up as he recalled the children shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School, saying, "Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad."